Rock Harbor of ages

Andrew Edwards

After spending seven years looking for a home, the congregation at

Rock Harbor Church finally has a place to call its own.

Unlike the biblical tale of a seven-year journey in ancient

Israel’s wilderness, Rock Harbor’s congregants confined their travels

to Newport-Mesa before finally settling down in a former warehouse.

“We’ve been looking for seven years, [with] 36 different addresses

we’ve been looking at,” teaching pastor Mike Erre said. “God just

kept saying not yet, not yet, not yet.”

The church held its first services in its new home Saturday night

and Sunday morning.

“It’s overwhelming, in a good sense,” church elder Greg Rieke,

said. “We’re just grateful for what God’s done and what he’s

provided.”

The 7-year-old church had held services at the Costa Mesa Senior

Center and Vineyard Newport. The new digs are nestled inside an

Eastside business district just a short drive from John Wayne

Airport. One of their neighbors is a plastics company.

On the inside, the building still shows signs of its transition

from a warehouse into a sanctuary. Gray, industrial-looking ducts

hang over worshipers’ heads, and unfinished woodwork around doors and

on walls show the church is still putting the finishing touches on

its architectural transformation.

The ongoing work on the building is like the congregation’s

spiritual growth, Erre said.

“We kind of see this as a great metaphor for our faith,” he said.

“You don’t have to be a finished project coming to God.”

Though a lot of the heavy-duty work was done by hired

professionals, Rock Harbor volunteers donated many hours over the

past six months to help ready the building for services.

“There’s been a whole lot of people that put in a lot of effort,”

volunteer supervisor Reed Robinson said.

Members of the church said they are connected by more than just

bricks and mortar.

“Our church has never been defined by a building,” church elder

Brady Schmidt said. “Nothing can contain what God wants to do in

people’s hearts.”

Rock Harbor Church may not always call their new building home,

lead pastor Todd Proctor said.

“We anticipate growing out of this building,” Proctor said,

calling the former warehouse “just a step along the way.”

Proctor is also a keyboardist for the church band, which, like

many contemporary churches, is based on the sounds of drums and

electric guitars instead of traditional organ music. The church has

scheduled special music services tonight and Tuesday, where members

will record a live album to commemorate their new home.

“We’re not doing it to make money,” Erre said. “It really is a way

for people who attend Rock Harbor to worship beyond Sunday.”

* ANDREW EDWARDS is the news assistant. He can be reached at (714)

966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards@latimes.com.